Rosebay
by Rosebay
Summary: Rosebay is captured by Slagar the Cruel and is sold as a slave to the cruel Rusudania to work in her mines.
1. Chapter 1 Queen Rusudania

Chapter 1

Out in the south of Mossflower country, a fox standing on the balcony of her palace looked out at the dark gray clouds that gathered in the sky. A wet drop hit her nose. _Rain. _She thought grudgingly. Rain meant that she had to cancel mining for the day to ensure that she didn't lose any slaves while the rain softened the dirt and made the tunnels collapse.

"Ahti!" she barked for her apprentice.

"Yes, Queen Rusudania?" Ahti asked.

"Tell every slave to evacuate the tunnels."

"Yes, my queen."

All of the slaves were gathered in a matter of minutes. Rusudania walked over to one of her guards; a stoat named Fleck. "Are all the slaves in?" she asked.

"All but one," Fleck replied. "We lost the hare, Quince."

"Did he escape?" Rusudania growled.

"No. He attacked Mudbelly and Duskclaw, and Mudbelly grabbed his dagger and stabbed him. Oh, and one more thing, your cousin Slagar is visiting today. I don't know when he'll arrive, but keep an eye out."

"Thank you Fleck." Rusudania replied. "I will wait for his arrival."

At the crack of dawn, Rusudania got up from her bed and looked out the window. There was still no sign of Slagar. Rusudania undressed from her nightgown and dressed into one of her favorite robes.

"Rusudania!" Ahti cried.

"What is it?" Rusudania asked.

"Slagar the Cruel has come!"


	2. Chapter 2 Slagar

Chapter 2: Slagar

"Slagar," Rusudania welcomed.

"Rusudania, my cousin," Slagar greeted, his vermin army standing behind him. Several slaves stood behind them in chains. Most of them were shaking in fear, some sulking and groaning in exhaustion. One mouse was scratching and kicking one of Slagar's rats. When two weasels interfered and restrained the rebellious mouse, the unlucky rat was left with numerous scratches and bruises. Rusudania walked over to the slaves and inspected them.

"Most of them are quite fit, but some look ill." Rusudania scrutinized.

"We caught a sickness on the way here. It took the lives of two stoats and an otter." Slagar explained. Rusudania paused at the mouse that had scratched the rat earlier.

"Where did you find this one?" she asked Slagar.

"We found her outside playing near the Redwall Abbey. That was where we caught most of the slaves." Rusudania bent over until she was at eye level with the mouse. The mouse glared icily at the fox.

"I swear that when I escape, I'll kill all of you!" she snapped.

"Well, that's a cruel thing to say," Rusudania replied calmly. "What is your name?"

"Why should I tell you?" the mouse retorted stubbornly.

"It's so that my servant Ahti can keep track of all the slaves, to make sure none of them have run away."

"Well fine then, if you want my name so badly, I'll tell you." The mouse paused for a short moment. "My name is Rosebay of Redwall, and I want to go home."

"That's a nice name, Rosebay, but I'm afraid that I can't send you home. Only Slagar can do that." Rusudania looked up at Slagar. "I will be taking them into the castle to prepare them for work now."

"Where's my payment?" Slagar asked. "I didn't cross extreme terrain and survived a sickness for nothing." Rusudania reluctantly reached into her bag and pulled out a purple silk pouch.

"There, a pound of gold for seven slaves." She placed the pouch in her cousin's paw.

"Thank you Russi." Slagar smiled as he looked inside the pouch.

"And don't come back saying you gambled it all away."

"I won't." Slagar turned around, beckoned to his soldiers, who were resting under a tree, and left.


	3. Chapter 3 Night in the Dungeon

Chapter 3: Night in the Dungeon

Rosebay glanced at the other six slaves walking behind her. Three of them were her friends, who were captured alongside her as they played in the pond near the Redwall Abbey. Her mother had warned her that a strange fox had been sighted but she and her friends went out to play despite the warnings. It was all her fault. She and her friends wouldn't have to work in Rusudania's mines of she hadn't taken them out to play. Her friends, Miya the hedgehog, and the squirrel siblings Lisa and Trisrow flashed worried glances at her. The small otter walking next to Miya was sobbing quietly. A large white and gray rabbit in the far back walked solemnly and kept tripping over his shackles. Next to Rosebay was another mouse named Jayke. Jayke was nervously twiddling his fingers as they continued down the long hallway.

They made their way down a long spiral staircase. Rosebay noticed that the air had become stuffy and foul. As they descended, it became darker and darker. Rusudania lit a lantern and led the way. They stopped in front of a cell. Rusudania took out a silver key from her bag and twisted it into the keyhole until the lock clicked. The door opened with a loud creaking sound and the slaves were pushed into the cell. Once everyone was in the cell, she closed the door, locked it, and headed back upstairs. The fire in the lantern faded away, and soon, the room was pitch black. Rosebay heard the little otter crying next to her. She felt around the cell until she felt the small paw of the little otter.

"It'll be okay," Rosebay tried to soothe the otter. "We'll find a way out."

"I want to go home!" the otter wailed. "I want my mommy and daddy!"

"We're never going to get out of here," Miya sighed hopelessly. "We're going to die and rot in here or get caved in the mines."

"We mustn't give up hope," Rosebay said fearlessly. "We will escape. And I will make sure we will."

The night in the dungeon was terrible. The damp ceilings dripped cold water very frequently, soaking their clothes and causing unbearable discomfort. Rosebay was awake all night. Every time she thought of sleeping, a horrible thought would enter her mind. Their capture, the dreadful disease, their unknown fate… She remembered the otter captive that caught the disease on the way here. His frail and sickly body thrashing about, his face beaded with sweat and red with fever. Slagar had ordered one of his soldiers to put the young otter out of his misery, and right in front of the terrified children's eyes, the ferret soldier plunged his sharp javelin into his chest. After he was killed, Rosebay and Trisrow were forced to bury the body.

Rosebay looked up in alarm as she heard footsteps approaching. Their door clicked and swung open noisily. Ahti, Rusudania's raven servant, stood holding a lantern. Behind her were six soldiers, holding chains. "Get up!" Ahti screeched. The soldiers came into the cell, grabbed the prisoners by their arms and shackled them. They were led up the long, spiral staircase and into a large room. Other slaves stood at tables, eating small portions of stale bread and cranberries. The soldiers holding the chains led them to a table in the center of the room.

"Eat." One of them commanded. Rosebay took a piece of bread and bit into it. It was the first piece of food she had in many days. Even though it was stale, she eagerly ate it.

"Diamonds are what we look for," Ahti showed Rosebay and the new slaves the beautiful gem after breakfast. "They are very precious. If I see any of you try and escape with a bag full of diamonds, I will peck your eyes out and leave your rotting flesh for the scavengers to eat." She handed them mining tools and separated them into five different tunnels. Rosebay glanced at the other slaves laboring away in the small tunnels. She glanced at the gray and white rabbit, named Ashen, who had been captured with them.

"I would kill that mangy raven with this pickaxe if our paws weren't chained." Ashen growled indignantly.

"I would too." Rosebay grumbled as she hacked away at the rock.

"What are the consequences of escaping?" Ashen asked.

"Dragged down to the dungeon I suppose." Rosebay replied.

"No," whimpered a small voice. "It's much worse than that." Rosebay and Ashen glanced over to see a vole and a mouse standing next to them. "They drag you down into a secret room and torture you to the point where death is imminent. No-Speak and I were lucky enough to survive."

"What did they do to you?" Ashen asked.

"I was beaten with a wooden bat until my left leg was snapped in two. No-Speak here had her tongue ripped out." The vole replied. Ashen's blue eyes widened in disgust. "And there's this fox. I think he's Rusudania's son. Sometimes he drags off an unlucky slave and eats him."

"He's over there!" a squirrel chattered warningly. Rosebay glanced outside and saw a mangy fox prowling around the castle grounds. His wild eyes glanced around and Rosebay could see a necklace of various bones around his neck. Rosebay groaned in disgust and continued watching as the fox grabbed a young mouse. Rosebay picked up her pickaxe and hurried out of the tunnel. She ran up to the fox and swung it wildly, determined to rescue the terrified mouse.

The mouse scurried away as Rosebay continued hacking. Suddenly the fox swiped out swiftly with his paw and Rosebay soon found herself on the ground, her forehead bleeding. "You've been a very naughty mouse," the fox growled maliciously. Rosebay whimpered in fear as the fox picked her up with his teeth. "A very naughty mouse."


End file.
